Hike Thurston Lava Tube (Nāhuku), Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

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Thurston Lava Tube is a easy hike it takes about 20 minutes (depends on how many people are in the tube - Go early or late to avoid the tour buses). As you walk through the tube it's neat to think that several hundred years ago a river of red lava rushed through. Currently lava travels from Pu'u O'o to the ocean in a labyrinth of lava tubes much like the tube you are walking through. Lights at Nāhuku are on 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Bring your own light source (headlamps and/or flashlights are best) for any other time of day. It is about 2 miles from the visitor center. You park, walk down through a lush rainforest for a short distance and small descent, then you arrive at the tubes. This lava tube was discovered in 1913 by Lorrin Thurston, a local newspaper publisher. At that time the roof of the tube was covered with lava stalactites, but those soon disappeared to souvenir collectors. Lava tubes are natural conduits through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow, expelled by a volcano during an eruption. They can be actively draining lava from a source, or can be extinct, meaning the lava flow has ceased and the rock has cooled and left a long, cave-like channel. Watch your head in the tube - there are some spots with a low ceiling!

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